The Philadelphia 76ers are expecting great things from Paul George this season. After immensely struggling last season thanks in large part to injuries, people were eager to see how he would fare this year. Unfortunately, the injury big bit him early on, causing him to miss nearly a month although he did make his return a few weeks ago.
Since then, George’s performance has been up and down, although that is to be expected given his long pause from NBA basketball. But despite that fact, the nine-time All-Star has given the team a much-needed boost in a lot of areas, and those things should be more than enough to keep the team content for now [as he works his way back from injury](https://www.hoopshype.com/story/sports/nba/rumors/2025/12/06/paul-george-critics-people-dont-understand-when-the-body-just-doesnt-allow-me-to-do-certain-things/87649854007/).
During their most recent win on the road over the struggling Bucks, George led their winning effort with 20 points, five rebounds, and five assists to his name in 30 minutes of game play. That was only his seventh game back from injury, but he did not fail to deliver on both ends of the floor.
Paul George is giving the 76ers a massive boost at forward
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People seemed to just gloss over the fact that part and parcel of George’s struggles since setting foot in Philly [were the injuries he had experienced](https://www.hoopshype.com/story/sports/nba/rumors/2025/12/06/paul-george-critics-people-dont-understand-when-the-body-just-doesnt-allow-me-to-do-certain-things/87649854007/). At 35 years of age, those injuries — which came before the regular season began — are quite tricky to get past given that they directly affect a player’s rhythm right from the get go.
As such, George was never afforded an opportunity to truly mesh with his teammates last season. His role wavered from game to game, and he never really looked comfortable in his role given his lack of familiarity on the hardwood with the players surrounding him.
While he will probably never return to being a fixture in All-Star teams, George still has a lot left in the tank as a two-way forward who can get hot pretty quickly while also capably defending multiple positions. He is no longer the one-on-one defensive savant he was in Indiana and Oklahoma City, but as he showed against the Bucks, he can still be a really pesky defender in the halfcourt given his ranginess and experience.
On offense, he still has a smooth shooting stroke that can only age well. His shooting numbers do not look impressive at the present, but his norm presupposes an uptick in percentage — something that should come along as he starts playing more minutes.
The Philadelphia 76ers still overpaid Paul George, but at this point, all they can do is to hope that things work out with him on the court. Fortunately, even in a declining package, he is still a very productive player, and the team will need him to be a constant on both ends to be successful moving forward.